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StateWays n www.stateways.com n March/April 2016 44 customers, Scherb says, think Sherry is an "old lady" thing, and "that's our opportunity to talk about the world of Sherry." Oth- ers, he adds, are extremely knowledgeable and "educate us." 67 Wine in New York City runs a robust program of tast- ings and other activities to promote Sherry and Port, says Oscar Garcia, who buys Sherry and some other categories for the store. "The best way to demystify these wines is to host com- prehensive tastings," Garcia says. The store held a weeklong series of tastings last fall dur- ing International Sherry Week, focusing each day on a different style of Sherry. The rest of the year, 67 Wine runs Sherry tast- ings once or twice a month and weekly Port tastings, sometimes with the participation of producers. Because Garcia wants to educate consumers about the cultural aspects of Sherry, tastings include extras such as food pairings or live fl amenco. The store, in partnership with a restaurant, also hosts Port and Sherry dinners. Sherry, because it ranges from dry to sweet, is reasonably easy to pair with an entire meal, but Port can be trickier. Garcia says the dinners feature pairings of savory and sweet – say, a robust beef dish with a structured, somewhat tannic Port – rather than just sweet with sweet. "It's a learning experience for a lot of people," he says. The dinners usually feature some sort of cocktail – hardly sur- prising, because cocktails have fi gured strongly in promotional efforts for fortifi ed wines. There's the aforementioned Sherry Cocktail Competition, which has included drinks like the "tomar- tini" and "Sherry shrub." In some markets, Gonzales Byass has promoted a cocktail called the "tiojito," a mojito made with Tio Pepe Fino. Chris Forbes of the Fladgate Partnership says his company doesn't really promote the idea of serving Port throughout a meal, although he does cite a few good pairings, like aged tawny with paté or foie gras – "the acidity in the Port cuts through the fattiness" of the food, he says. But the company does encourage the use of Port in cocktails. An initiative involving cocktail expert Andy Seymour started last year in New York, with plans to roll it out across the country this year. Croft Pink, introduced in 2009, is a Fladgate product that has seen particularly good suc- cess because of its use in cocktails and sangria, Forbes says. A Northern California resident, LAURIE DANIEL has written about wine for more than 20 years. Her wine column appears in several California newspa- pers, and her articles have appeared in magazines such as Wines & Vines, Food & Wine, Wine Country Living, Drinks and the Wine Enthusiast. LEADING IMPORTED BRANDS OF DESSERT & FORTIFIED WINE, 2013-2014 (000 9-Liter Cases) Brand Supplier 2013 2014 % Change Savory & James Charles Jacquin et Cie 85 85 0.0% Harveys Bristol Cream Beam Suntory 65 65 0.0% Cockburn's Porto Premium Port Wines 61 63 3.3% Sandeman Pernot Ricard USA 60 61 1.7% Colombo Marsala Total Beverage Solution 50 43 -14.0% Fonseca Kobrand 48 51 6.3% Graham's Premium Port Wines 45 47 4.4% Warres Vineyard Brands 45 45 0.0% Dow's Premium Port Wines 42 40 -4.8% Taylor Fladgate Kobrand 40 43 7.5% Total Leading Brands 541 543 0.4% Total Imported Dessert & Fortified Wine 795 800 0.6% Source: The Beverage Information & Insights Group. For more data, visit www.albevresearch.com. 67 wine in New York City held a weeklong series of tastings during International Sherry Week, focusing on a different style each day. A Northern California resident, LAURIE DANIEL has written about wine LAURIE DANIEL has written about wine LAURIE DANIEL for more than 20 years. Her wine column appears in several California newspa- pers, and her articles have appeared in magazines such as Wines & Vines, Food & Wine, Wine Country Living, Drinks and the Wine Enthusiast.